Portable garment holder



Patented lune I3, I899 F. G. BEAL.

PORTABLE GARMENT HOLDER.

(Application filed. Jan. 27, 1899.)

(No: llodel) THE scams FEVER$ co. PHDTO-LIYHOJWASHINGTON, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK O. BEAL, OF TORONTO, CANADA.

PORTABLE GARMENT-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 626,781, dated June 13, 1899. Application filed January 2'7, 1899. Serial No. 703,635. (N0 odeL To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FREDERICK CURRY BEAL, of the city of Toronto, in the county of York and Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable GarmentrI-Iolders; and I hereby declare that. the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

This inventionrelates to a portable holder for overcoats or wraps which can without detracting from its appearance or shape be detachably or permanently attached to an overcoat, cape, cloak, or other removable garment for the purpose of suspending the same from the back of a seat or other support.

In many places of public and private amusement and worship no provision is made in the seating arrangements for the care of such removable articles of clothing as overcoats, capes, cloaks, and other wraps, and it is customary in such cases either to place them over the back of a seat or beneath it. In the former case the garment partly displaces the occupant from the seat and in addition it becomes creased by the weight of the occupants body, and in the latter case it is liable to be soiled by the dirt which naturally accumulates beneath the seat.

To provide the overcoat or other article of wearing-apparel with a portable holder which can either be detachably or permanently attached to it in such a manner that its appearance will not be detracted from and to so arrange this holder that such overcoat or article of wearing-apparel can be suspended from the back of a chair, seat, or other support is the object of the present invention; and it consists, essentially of a flexible strap either detachably or permanently secured to the in side of the back of the overcoat or other article of wearing-apparel and provided with comparatively rigid hook-shaped ends to grip the support from which the garment is to be suspended,as hereinafter more fully set forth,

and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an overcoat suspended from the back of a chair. Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of the garment-holder. Fig. 3 is a View of a section of an overcoat, showing the garment-holder secured in position.

- Like letters of reference refer to like parts throughout the specification and drawings.

- The garment-holder consists of a flexible strap A, preferably of a textile-fabric material of sufficient strength to sustain the weight of the article of wearing-apparel to whichit is connected or to be connected.

B B represent two hangers secured to the ends of the strap A and adapted to grip the back of a chair or other support when the apparatus is in use. The hangers B B, as shown in the drawings, consist of two wire hooks, each having a loop I), to which are'secured the ends of the strap A.

The strap Ais contained in a sheath O, secured within the lining D of the garment to protect the garment from being worn or cut by the hangers and to hold the hangers properly in place. The ends of the sheath 0 are enlarged to readily admit the hangers B B.

Formed in the lining D are two slits E E, opposed to the ends of the sheath 0 to allow of the movement of the hangers B B and strap A.

By making the strap A of an elastic textile fabric a short strap can be used for the holder and extended when in use to overlap the edges of the garment. As shown in Fig. l of the drawings, the holder when in use is extended to overlap the edges of the garment after the sides of the same have been folded in to reduce the width, the hangers then being placed in position to grip the back of the seat or support. It is preferable to connect the holder to the middle of the inside of the garment in order that when the garment is suspended from the back of a seat it will be practically doubled to prevent either the top or bottom comingin contact with the floor when the support is of any ordinary height.

To limit the stretch of the strap A, two inextensible straps F F are employed, which are connected to the ends of the strap Aand to the sheath C. These straps limit the outward stretch of the strap A and also hold the strap in a conveniently-accessible position to be seized when it is desired to make use of the holder.

The holder may be either sewed to the garment or a button G may be provided, which passes through a buttonhole in the strap in order that the strap can be detached from the garment if it is found advisable to do so.

The invention has been shown applied to an overcoat and inserted between the face goods and the lining. It can, however, be attached to the lining of the garment, or it can be attached to an unlined garment, and it can be used in conjunction with any other removable wrapsuch as an opera-cloak, cape, waterproof coat, or other article of Wearing-apparel-and it can be connected to the garment in any convenient position between the top and bottom. It is preferable, however, to attach the garment-holder, in the case of overcoats and cloaks, at the waist, Where the garment is usually loose, in order that its presence will not be detected. When not in use, the hangers are drawn by the clasticity of the strap into the sheath just inside of thepopen ends and are prevented from being drawn in too far by the flexible stops, which also hold the hangers in a convenient position to be seized when it is required to use the garment-holder.

The use of the invention is as follows: The sides of the garment are folded in to reduce the width, and the hangers are seized and drawn out of the sheath, extending at the same time the ends of the strap beyond the sides of the folded garment. The garmentis then doubled over and the hangers are placed in a position to grip the back of the temporary support, which is usually in public places the back of the seat or chair. 7

Having thus fully described 'my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A portable garment-holder embracing in its construction a garment havinga lining, a garment-holder connected to the garment within the lining consisting of a strap, and a hanger connected to each end of the strap adapted to be contained between the lining and the face fabric of the garment, and slits in the lining opposed to the ends of the strap through which the hangers are adapted to be drawn, substantially as specified.

' 2. A portable garment-holder embracing in its construction an elastic strap attached to the inside of the garment, hangers connected to 'the strap to detachably connect it to the support, and stops to limit the stretch of the strap, substantially as specified.

3. A garment-holder embracing in its construction an open-ended sheath attached to the inside of the garment, an elastic strap contained Within the sheath, and hangers 'connected to the ends of the strap to detachably connect it to the support, substantially as specified.

t. A garment-holder embracing in its construction an open-ended sheath attached to the inside of the garment, an elastic strap contained within the sheath, hangers connected to the ends of the strap to detaehably connect it to the support, and flexible stops to limit the stretch of the elastic strap, substantially as specified.

Toronto, Canada, January 21, A. D. 1809.

F. o. BEA-L.

In presence of M. A. XVEsTwooD, O. H. RIcHEs. 

